Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a lopsided combination for Doom, where the GPU is clearly the dominant force at higher resolutions, yet the CPU still manages to keep pace at 1080p. This pairing demonstrates how a modern high-end graphics card can stretch its legs in an older, well-optimized title, though the processor’s six cores eventually become the limiting factor when frame rates climb into the hundreds.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern: as resolution increases, average frame rates drop significantly, indicating that the rendering load shifts almost entirely onto the RTX 4090. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 352 FPS, but this falls to 287 FPS at 1440p and further down to 156 FPS at 4K. This represents a 55.7% reduction in frame rate from 1080p Low to 4K Low, which is a substantial decline that points to the GPU’s workload scaling with pixel count.

The gap between resolutions narrows when comparing the High preset. At 1080p High, the system hits 317 FPS, while 1440p High delivers 211 FPS and 4K High drops to 115 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings is 63.7%, which is even steeper than the Low preset’s drop. This suggests that at higher quality settings, the graphics card’s shading units and memory bandwidth are being pushed harder, making the resolution scaling more pronounced.

At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 94, which is the lowest recorded result across all configurations. The transition from 1080p Ultra (267 FPS) to 4K Ultra (94 FPS) shows a 64.8% decline. This consistent trend across all settings confirms that Doom is highly GPU-bound at 4K, with the RTX 4090’s 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth being the primary drivers of performance.

Interestingly, the scaling from 1440p to 4K is less severe than from 1080p to 1440p. For Medium settings, 1440p yields 250 FPS and 4K gives 136 FPS, a 45.6% drop, while the 1080p to 1440p drop is 25.6% (from 336 FPS to 250 FPS). This non-linear scaling suggests that at 4K, the GPU begins to hit memory or compute limits that are less impactful at lower resolutions, where the CPU can still feed frames quickly enough.

The data indicates that the RTX 4090 is the limiting component at 4K across all settings, as even the fastest preset (Low) only reaches 156 FPS. At 1080p, however, the Ryzen 5 5600X starts to show its influence, with the gap between Low (352 FPS) and Ultra (267 FPS) being just 24.2%, which is smaller than the 4K gap of 39.7% between Low and Ultra. This implies that at 1080p, the CPU’s single-thread performance and cache structure are more relevant, while at 4K, the GPU’s raw throughput dominates.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo in Doom?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 352, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the peak performance point in the measured data, with the lowest settings and resolution providing the least demanding workload.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K for this setup?

A: At Low settings, 1080p delivers 352 FPS versus 156 FPS at 4K, making the lower resolution 125.6% faster. For High settings, the difference is 317 FPS versus 115 FPS, which is 175.7% faster at 1080p.

Q: Does the RTX 4090 bottleneck the Ryzen 5 5600X in this game?

A: At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, with all settings producing below 156 FPS. At 1080p, the CPU becomes more relevant, as evidenced by the smaller FPS gap between Low and Ultra presets, but the data does not indicate a severe bottleneck at any resolution.

Q: What is the best preset for a balance of visual quality and performance at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset provides 250 FPS average, which is a 39 FPS improvement over High (211 FPS) while still offering better quality than Low (287 FPS). The Medium preset also shows a minimum FPS of 213, which is above typical high-refresh-rate monitor thresholds.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Doom?

A: The combo ranks 168th out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the top 4.5% of all configurations. This rank reflects the strong overall performance of the RTX 4090, despite the older CPU.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600X’s 6-core/12-thread configuration sufficient for Doom?

A: The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads, combined with a 32 MB L3 cache and boost clock of 4.60 GHz, are sufficient to drive frame rates above 267 FPS at 1080p Ultra. The data shows no evidence of CPU limitations at any resolution, as even the lowest FPS (94 at 4K Ultra) is well above playable thresholds.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is the standout choice. It delivers 250 FPS average with a minimum of 213 FPS and a maximum of 288 FPS, providing a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate displays. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p costs 39 FPS (a 15.6% reduction), which is a noticeable trade-off for slightly better visuals. Since Doom is a fast-paced FPS, maintaining a high frame rate is more impactful than incremental visual fidelity.

At 4K, the Low preset is the most practical option, yielding 156 FPS average. This is the only 4K setting that breaks the 144 FPS barrier, which is critical for high-refresh-rate 4K monitors. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 136 FPS, which is still playable but sacrifices the headroom needed for consistent 144 FPS gameplay. Ultra at 4K is not recommended, as the 94 FPS average falls below the 100 FPS threshold that many players consider minimum for competitive play.

For 1080p, the High preset at 317 FPS is the sweet spot. It offers a 5.7% reduction from Low (352 FPS) but delivers significantly better visual quality. The Ultra preset at 267 FPS is also viable, but the 50 FPS loss from High makes it less appealing unless maximum image quality is the priority. The Medium preset at 336 FPS is a middle ground, but given that High is only 19 FPS slower, there is little reason to choose Medium over High.

Overall, the data suggests that players should prioritize resolution and refresh rate over preset quality. At 1440p, Medium offers the best balance; at 4K, Low is the only setting that maintains high refresh rates; and at 1080p, High provides the optimal combination of speed and fidelity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are consistently high across all settings. The Low preset achieves 352 FPS, which is the highest result in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 336 FPS with a minimum of 286 FPS and a maximum of 386 FPS, showing a tight range. High delivers 317 FPS, while Ultra drops to 267 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 85 FPS, which represents a 24.1% performance penalty for maximum quality at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain impressive but show a clear step down. Low produces 287 FPS, Medium averages 250 FPS with a range of 213 to 288 FPS, High hits 211 FPS, and Ultra falls to 173 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 114 FPS, a 39.7% reduction, which is more pronounced than at 1080p due to the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops are substantial. Low achieves 156 FPS, Medium averages 136 FPS with a minimum of 115 FPS and maximum of 156 FPS, High produces 115 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 94 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 62 FPS, a 39.7% reduction, mirroring the percentage drop seen at 1440p. This consistency suggests that the GPU’s scaling with resolution is linear across settings.

The minimum FPS values are only recorded for the Medium preset at each resolution: 286 FPS at 1080p, 213 FPS at 1440p, and 115 FPS at 4K. These minimums are notably lower than the averages, indicating potential frame time spikes, but they remain well above playable levels. The maximum FPS values for Medium are 386, 288, and 156 at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively, showing that the system can briefly exceed the average by a significant margin.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 168th out of 3712 tested combos for Doom, placing it in the top 4.5% of all systems. This rank is impressive given the CPU’s age, as the 5600X was released in late 2020, while the RTX 4090 is a 2022 flagship. The ranking suggests that the GPU’s raw performance compensates for the processor’s relatively modest specifications.

The CPU itself holds a percentile of 75 among all processors, meaning it outperforms 75% of CPUs in general benchmarks. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H (0.1% faster), AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 6650U (0.5% slower), Intel Core i7-11700 (0.5% slower), and AMD EPYC 9554P (0.6% slower). These rivals are a mix of mobile and desktop parts, indicating that the 5600X’s performance is well-rounded.

For the GPU, the RTX 4090 ranks in the 88th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60347. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% difference), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% slower), AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (2.5% slower), and AMD Radeon PRO V710 (2.9% slower). These are professional workstation cards, which highlights the RTX 4090’s dominance in consumer gaming workloads.

The combination’s rank of 168 is likely driven by the GPU’s exceptional performance, as the RTX 4090’s average benchmark score is 2.77 times higher than the CPU’s. In Doom, this translates to frame rates that are limited by the GPU at higher resolutions, allowing the system to compete with setups featuring newer, more powerful CPUs.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, providing strong single-thread performance that is critical for older games like Doom. The CPU’s 32 MB L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for maintaining high frame rates in fast-paced scenes.

In the context of Doom, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p resolution, where frame rates exceed 300 FPS. At these speeds, the CPU must process game logic and draw calls quickly enough to feed the GPU. The 5600X’s single-thread score of 917 in 3dMark and 1541 in Cinebench R23 indicates strong per-core performance, which is essential for this workload.

The CPU’s 12 threads are more than sufficient for Doom, which is not heavily multithreaded. The 3dMark 16-thread score of 5582 and max-thread score of 5588 show that the processor scales well with additional threads, but the game likely benefits more from the high boost clock. The 65W TDP is modest, allowing the CPU to maintain boost clocks without excessive heat, which helps sustain performance during long gaming sessions.

The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution, as even at 1080p Low (352 FPS), the system is likely GPU-limited at that extreme frame rate. However, the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p (85 FPS) is larger than the gap at 4K (62 FPS), suggesting that the CPU’s influence diminishes as resolution increases. This is typical behavior, as the GPU’s rendering workload becomes the dominant factor at higher pixel counts.

The Ryzen 5 5600X’s PCIe Gen 4 support with 20 lanes ensures that the RTX 4090 can communicate at full bandwidth, although the GPU’s 24 GB of memory and 384-bit bus would not be fully utilized by the CPU in this title. The processor’s dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for Doom, which does not require excessive memory bandwidth.